State v. Kirkbride

CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 2, 2026
DocketCT2025-0102
StatusPublished

This text of State v. Kirkbride (State v. Kirkbride) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Kirkbride, (Ohio Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

[Cite as State v. Kirkbride, 2026-Ohio-2059.]

IN THE OHIO COURT OF APPEALS FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT MUSKINGUM COUNTY, OHIO

STATE OF OHIO, Case No. CT2025-0102

Plaintiff - Appellee Opinion And Judgment Entry

-vs- Appeal from the Muskingum County Court of Common Pleas, Case No. CR2024-0754 DAVID KIRKBRIDE, Judgment: Affirmed Defendant - Appellant Date of Judgment Entry: June 1, 2026

BEFORE: Andrew J. King; Craig R. Baldwin; Robert G. Montgomery, Judges

APPEARANCES: JOSEPH A. PALMER, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Plaintiff- Appellee; W. JEFFREY MOORE, for Defendant-Appellant.

Baldwin, P.J.

{¶1} Appellant David Kirkbride appeals his conviction and sentence on one

count of obstructing official business and one count of assaulting a police dog. Appellee is

the State of Ohio. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the decision of the trial court.

STATEMENT OF FACTS AND THE CASE

{¶2} On November 27, 2024, the appellant was indicted on one count of

obstructing official business in violation of R.C. 2921.31(A) and (B), a felony of the fifth

degree; and, one count of assaulting a police dog in violation of R.C. 2921.321(A)(1) and

(E)(1)(a), a misdemeanor of the second degree. The appellant pleaded not guilty at his

December 10, 2024, arraignment. The matter proceeded to trial on July 31, 2025, at which

the following evidence was presented. {¶3} On or about November 20, 2024, Deputy Matthew Kallgren and K9 Division

Deputy Michael Wisecarver of the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office were assigned the

task of serving outstanding warrants, one of which had been issued for the appellant on a

child endangering charge unrelated to this appeal. Deputy Wisecarver participated in the

task with his K-9 partner, Panzer, as the appellant was known to Sheriff’s Office personnel

to be a potentially dangerous individual.

{¶4} Deputies first went to the appellant’s last known address, but did not find

him at that location. Next, they went to another home which the appellant was sometimes

known to frequent. Deputies arrived at said home, where they observed the appellant’s

vehicle. Deputies knocked on the front door, and when the homeowner answered she gave

them her consent to search the property. Deputies began walking around the property,

where they observed the appellant’s truck with the door open and a pack of cigarettes, an

open Mountain Dew, and crackers inside. Deputies also observed a barn, a dump truck,

and a van on which the sliding doors were open. Deputy Wisecarver observed the

appellant “crouched down, sitting on his knees, with his hands tucked up underneath of

him.” Both deputies testified that entering a confined space to pursue an offender is

dangerous, as they do not know if the offender is armed, or if the offender is going to fight

them. As a result, they generally do not enter into such confined spaces in order to

apprehend an offender.

{¶5} Deputy Wisecarver testified that upon seeing the appellant through the

open sliding door crouched inside the van, he told the appellant: “I can see you … sheriff’s

office K-9, come out, you’re going to be bitten;” Wisecarver testified further that he

repeated these statements “over and over again.” The appellant, however, refused to come

out of the van. Deputy Wisecarver testified that while he could not remember the exact number of times he repeated his command, he continued with his command to the

appellant to exit the van for approximately five minutes. When the appellant continued

to refuse to comply, Deputy Wisecarver deployed K-9 Panzer to apprehend him.

{¶6} Deputy Wisecarver testified that he ultimately decided to send Panzer in

after the appellant because the appellant “was inside the van. He wasn’t complying. He

wasn’t listening. It was a small area that - - not somewhere that I would go into to get him.

The way he was positioned in the van, he was out of reach so there was no reaching in to

grab him. It was - - there was - - the safest option was to get the dog to bring him out.”

Deputy Wisecarver testified further that deploying Panzer “saved [Wisecarver] from

going inside the van and potentially creating a deadly force scenario.” The appellant

punched Panzer in the snout, grabbed ahold of Panzer’s gums and tried to pry Panzer off.

Deputy Wisecarver testified that when he and Deputy Kallgren arrested the appellant they

found knives and/or box cutters on his person.

{¶7} Deputies Kallgren testified that he and Deputy Wisecarver had a number of

warrants to execute on that day, and the time they had to spend apprehending the

appellant impeded their ability to attend to the service of said warrants. Counsel for the

appellant objected to the question as irrelevant and stipulated that the deputies had

official duties that the appellant’s conduct impeded:

Q. [BY MR. HOWARD] Okay. Did you have other tasks that you needed

to complete that day?

A. [DEPUTY KALLGREN] Yes.

Q. Okay. What are some of the other things that he kept you from doing?
A. Responding to calls for service, traffic enforcement. There were

several other warrants that were signed and issued by judges to serve. MR. MOORE: Objection; irrelevant. What else he had to do that day,

how are we focused on this?

THE COURT: I mean, are you going to stipulate that he had official

duties that this impeded?

MR. MOORE: Absolutely.

{¶8} The appellant had filed a Motion in Limine prior to trial in which he argued

that he believed Deputy Wisecarver brought K-9 Panzer to the scene because the appellant

“was listed as a caution because he had violent tendencies, and being known to abuse

drugs, resist arrest, and commit domestic violence,” and moved the court for an order

limiting the appellee from “any use of prior events to convictions for felonies and crimes

of moral turpitude.” The issue was argued prior to opening arguments, and the trial court

determined that the Deputy Wisecarver could explain why he brought the K-9, with the

limitation that he could not go into the appellant’s prior criminal record unless some

reason to allow it arose during trial.

{¶9} The appellee rested, after which the appellant presented the testimony of

witness T.M., who owned the home where the appellant was apprehended; and, witness

M.C., a neighbor who lived across the street and testified regarding his observations of

the incident from his front porch.

{¶10} The appellant requested a jury instruction on self-defense. The appellee

opposed the request, arguing “[t]here is no right to deploy self-defense against law

enforcement when they are engaged in their lawful duties, so that instruction won’t be

appropriate.” The trial court thereafter denied the appellant’s request for a self-defense

instruction. {¶11} The jury found the appellant guilty on both the obstruction of official

business charge, and the assault of a police dog charge. The appellant filed a timely appeal,

and sets forth the following five assignments of error:

{¶12} “I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT FAILED TO INSTRUCT THE

JURY ON SELF-DEFENSE.”

{¶13} “II. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT DENIED THE APPELLANT’S

MOTION IN LIMINE.”

{¶14} “III. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT ALLOWED THE STATE TO

TELL THE JURY THAT THE APPELLANT WAS “DANGEROUS.”

{¶15} “IV.

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Bluebook (online)
State v. Kirkbride, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kirkbride-ohioctapp-2026.